Britain vs Germany poolside conflict

Published on: 4 Jun 2008
by Fileo

When David Barnish, a holidaymaker from the U.K., won last week a 1000 euros compensation from the well known tour operator Thomson for a 5000 euros unhappy holiday in Kos, could not imagine that he was to be the cause of a bitter comments exchange between two of the the major European tabloids, The Sun and the Bild.

The Sun, which has crossed swords with Bild many times before, led the way with the headline: “Holiday from Helmut – Brits sue over holiday with Germans” only to receive the proper reply from the Bild: “Dear Tommies, you don’t want to go on holiday with us? No problem – we will play football without you this summer.”

During the court procedure Thomson agreed that the firm’s brochure was misleading, failing to make clear that the hotel was catered for a mainly German clientele. This decision of the Small Claims Court may create a precedence of litigation against tourist operators.